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Caroling on The Circle is highlight of Sussex County's food collection drive

November 11, 2021

Story Location:
2 The Circle
Georgetown, DE 19947
United States

DEC. 6 UPDATE: Caroling on the Circle postponed

Sussex County officials have announced that Caroling on The Circle will return in early December, after last year’s festivities were muted due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s Caroling on The Circle celebration will be an outdoor-only event, weather permitting.

Each year, Caroling on The Circle serves as the centerpiece event to the county’s annual food drive, drawing hundreds of residents – along with the support of area schools, businesses and civic organizations – who turn out for an evening of Christmas carols and donate food.

While the event was put on hiatus in 2020, the annual food drive continued during the holiday season, collecting more than 15,000 items for distribution to area pantries, churches and food banks that feed families in Sussex County.

Organizers are hopeful for a closer-to-normal collection this year, as the 38th annual food drive runs through the end of December. The public is asked to do their part to Pack the Pod storage shed that will be set up at The Circle later this month with donated food items.

In 2019, the drive collected nearly 30,000 items for local food pantries. Since its inception in the 1980s, Caroling on The Circle has collected nearly 750,000 food items.

“The last couple of years have changed the world in so many ways, right down to our personal routines and how we live our day-to-day lives,” said County Administrator Todd Lawson. “What hasn’t changed, though, is that giving spirit that has always been so strong in Sussex County and made this community so special. We didn’t need a pandemic to prove that to ourselves. It’s on display every day in this community, and I’m proud that we are able to continue that tradition with Caroling on The Circle and food drive this year.”

The Sussex County Courthouse and The Circle will serve as the backdrop for an evening of traditional and Spanish carols, as well as a visit from Santa Claus. WBOC TV’s Jimmy Hoppa will emcee this year’s event, which will feature local singing artists Kevin Short and Ed Shockley. Also joining in the performances will be the El Centro Cultural group.

The event is free to attend. Participants are asked to bring nonperishable food items for donation.

Food items will be collected that night, but donations can be dropped off through the end of December at the county administrative offices building, 2 The Circle, Georgetown. Receptacles will be available outside the county complex, allowing the public to make no-contact drops 24 hours a day throughout the holiday season. Staff will routinely collect items and Pack the Pod before delivering food to pantries.

For more information, call 302-855-7700.

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